By "Cthulhu" <Cthulhu@vorlonempire.com>

The Sasquatches were created by Jordi to be the defenders of the wild places - guardians of the purity of nature. But as has been shown again and again, nothing is incorruptible, and inevitably a few of the Idealists got just a little bit too curious about the humans and their machines, accumulated some dissonance and ...

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......... thud.

The Wendigoes were born.

Sasquatches are attuned to the environment, and the health thereof. The Wendigoes, however, have become anathema to the natural world; spreading ill health wherever they go. The very presence of a Defiler makes the land sick, and they can home in on individual creatures, weakening their bodies and souls.

If a Wendigo strays from its destructive "duty" it accumulates dissonance. They gain 1 note for each day that they do not in some way damage the ecosystem (pouring bleach over a garden, putting down poison, etc.). This dissonance may be removed by performing two acts of desecration the next day, but after two days pass the note becomes permanent (and must be worked off in some other way). They can also gain a note of dissonance if a victim of their Resonance successfully resists them.

Most Wendigo retain their animalistic vessels from Jordi: these are similar to those of the Sasquatches, but appear to be sickly and malnourished. Their body hair is long, ratty and oily black, and they are frightfully thin (though broad shouldered). They have disproportionately large eyes (covered with cataracts) and mouths (filled with long, knife-like teeth): their steady, milky-white gaze is quite unnerving. If a Wendigo acquires a human vessel they still tend to be rather hirsute, and they usually have very poor hygiene. They make Calabim look neat.

Their Celestial form looks almost identical to their animal-thing vessels, only in even worse health, with ribs showing against the fur on their sides. They also have a blackened aura surrounding them, trailing little tendrils of darkness as they move.

In any form or vessel Wendigoes are slovenly, and move by shambling along, swinging their (usually) overlong arms as they go. Most tend to be fascinated by gadgets, and obsessively collect trinkets in their pockets and hidey-holes. They are frequently bitter, as most of them are Fallen (see Wendigoes and the Horde).

The Wendigo resonance can be used in two ways. Firstly, while a Wendigo remains in an area it may try once per week to spread its sickness. This is done with a standard, unmodified Resonance roll. If this is successful, then the Wendigo has made the very land sick, and all living creatures within the area of effect suffer a penalty equal to (check digit/3 [min 1]) to all rolls, lasting until the Wendigo leaves. This is cumulative; if the Wendigo remains in the area for a week and makes another Resonance roll, then the affected suffer from both penalties. The penalty fades at a rate of -1 per day the Wendigo is gone from the area. This use of Resonance disturbs the Symphony, with a modifier equal to that of the Check Digit.

The area of effect depends on the locale and the Wendigoes Ethereal Forces. The more living creatures around, the smaller the area, as only so many creatures are affected by the Resonance). In desert or tundra, the area is (Ethereal Forces/2) miles. In a forest or marsh, the area is (Ethereal Forces/3) miles. In a city, the area is (Ethereal Forces/2) blocks, or a small park or square. These are only guidelines, and the GM is of course free to improvise.

The second use is independent of the first, though rolls to resist are modified by any penalties incurred from exposure to "sick" land. In this case the Wendigo must select a single target and makes physical contact, however briefly. The Wendigo rolls its Resonance, and the victim attempts to resist using Will, though they must beat the Wendigoes check digit to win. If the Wendigo succeeds, then that person counts as having Flu (see Night Music, page 67), with all the problems that entails, though they are not contagious. If the Wendigo loses and the victim resisted with a CD of 6, then it suffers a note of dissonance and a severe headache.

Note that Celestial vessels are immune to the first use of Resonance, but not the second.

To put it bluntly, Wendigoes are useless in Hell. The newly Fallen spend some time there, being poked and prodded, but inevitably they are assigned to a relevant Prince and sent back up to cause trouble. Nothing in Hell can really get sick, and no Prince is foolish enough to keep something so rare where it's of no use.

And they are rare. Exactly how rare depends on you; if you want them to be ultra rare, then no Prince has worked out how to create them. All Wendigoes are Fallen Sasquatches: there are likely no more than a few dozen, and Jordi is baying for their blood. If you want them to be slightly more common, then some or all of the Princes mentioned below have worked out how to create them, but the process is tricky, long and unreliable.

As the Resonance of a Wendigo is broad but not terribly useful on its own, most Princes will use a Wendigo as part of a team, weakening opponents before a fight or business takeover. One of the most common requests a new Wendigo will make is a human vessel, so that they can better explore the previously forbidden society all around them.

Beleth picked up on these creatures from their feared place in Native American myth (or should that be vice versa?). A Wendigo serving Nightmares may give a rattling shriek that terrifies any Corporeal creature within hearing distance (which can be a long way, out in the woods). If they fail a Will roll they must flee in abject terror for three rounds. The Wendigo may do this once every four rounds.

The sickness passed in the touch of a Wendigo serving Saminga is more potent than normal, and can kill if medical attention is not received within a day or so (GMs fiat). This does disturb the Symphony, but not until the victim dies and the Wendigo is (hopefully) far away.

Vapula is often the most welcoming Prince to newly Fallen Wendigoes, as they often hunger for insights into his long-resisted domain. To accommodate this, Vapula gives them all a free technological Artifact worth 12 points. The GM has final say on what is acceptably "technological" for this.

It isn't known if Jordi had even created many Sasquatches in Makatiel's time, and even if he had, if any Fell. Regardless, if you want to put in a (very old) servitor of Disease in your game, or use them in a different time period, then they get the following Attunement.

A Wendigo serving Makatiel passes on a contagious sickness with a successful Resonance roll, spreading quickly from host to host. This can soon cripple a small business or family, and have far worse repercussions. Needless to day, this frankly uncontrollable power has earned the ire of several high-ups in both Heaven and Hell.